‘This is unprecedented’: Study finds link between COVID lockdowns and shootings in Philly

Stoneleigh Fellow Ruth Abaya spoke to WITF about a new study finding a significant and sustained increase in gun violence in Philadelphia following the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

New research out of Temple University found the average number of people shot in Philadelphia each week nearly doubled during the first eight months of the pandemic, bolstering claims made by community activists, criminologists, and police that COVID-19 is driving the city’s ongoing surge in gun violence.

The research letter, published this week in the Journal of the American Medical Association, indicates there was a “significant and sustained” increase in gun violence in Philadelphia after the city started implementing containment policies designed to slow the spread of COVID-19, beginning with last year’s March 16 order shuttering all non-essential businesses.

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